RBI's Committee on Responsible AI in the Financial Sector

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has established an eight-member committee to develop a framework for the responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the financial sector, termed as FREE-AI.

Committee Leadership and Members

• The committee is led by Pushpak Bhattacharyya, a professor at IIT Bombay's Department of Computer Science and Engineering.
• Other members include: 
  • Debjani Ghosh - Independent Director, Reserve Bank Innovation Hub
  • Balaraman Ravindran - Head, Wadhwani School of Data Science and AI, IIT Madras
  • Abhishek Singh - Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
  • Rahul Matthan - Partner, Trilegal
  • Anjani Rathor - Group Head and Chief Digital Experience Officer, HDFC Bank
  • Sree Hari Nagaralu - Head of Security AI Research, Microsoft India (R&D)
  • Suvendu Pati - Chief General Manager, FinTech Department, RBI

Objectives and Terms of Reference

• To recommend a robust, comprehensive, and adaptable AI framework for the financial sector.
• To assess current AI adoption levels in financial services, both globally and in India.
• To review regulatory and supervisory approaches on AI, focusing on the financial sector worldwide.
• To identify potential AI-associated risks and recommend frameworks for: 
  • Risk evaluation
  • Risk mitigation
  • Risk monitoring
  • Compliance requirements for financial institutions, such as banks, NBFCs, fintechs, and PSOs.
• To suggest a framework for the responsible and ethical adoption of AI models/applications in the domestic financial sector, including governance aspects.

Timeline

The committee is expected to submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting.